Real Sanders Estate Weddings: Jill and Trevor

Trevor, an Occupational Therapist, and Jill, a wedding planner at Blue Ribbon Cooking, were married last June, on an unexpectedly rainy day at the Sanders Estate.

The couple, who met in 2005, when they were teaching swimming lessons together, got engaged on their third dating anniversary. Trevor woke Jill up at 5am and took her on a sunrise hot air balloon ride. Afterwards, they went to the Woodland Park Zoo, where they had a private feeding with the giraffes. Then, it was off to dinner and a show at Teatro ZinZanni. Finally, when they arrived home to a house filled with rose petals and candles, Trevor popped the question. Sounds like an amazing day, doesn’t it?

When it came time to start planning for the wedding, the couple originally wanted to get married in a hotel in downtown Seattle – to make it easy on friends and family that live in the area. However, after visiting a few hotels, the couple wasn’t feeling a connection to any of the spaces they saw, and felt that the ballrooms weren’t personal enough.

They began to visit some outdoor spaces, and when they finally drove through the gates of the Sanders Estate, they just knew, they were done looking. Jill says the tents were a huge selling point for her because they felt romantic and intimate. Not to mention, the drive from Seattle to the Estate was shorter than the couple had thought it would be, and they arranged to have a charter bus to take family and friends to and from the city.

Since the couple found the Estate and the grounds so beautiful, they wanted to keep the colors of the wedding neutral, so as not to take away from the natural beauty. All of the flowers were white with touches of greenery, and the accent color was gray. According to Jill, it was simply stunning against the outdoors!

One of the couple’s most memorable moments was their first look. Since they weren’t able to get married under the arbor, due to the rain, they decided to have their first look there instead. Trevor stood overlooking the meadow, and Jill walked up behind him.

The couple chose a vintage travel and hot air balloon theme for their big day. The hot air balloons incorporated the story of their engagement into the wedding day, and the travel theme carried through the idea of marriage being a journey. They purchased old suitcases from an antique store, and used a custom hot air balloon design on their paper goods like the menu, seating chart and escort cards. The bride even baked and dipped over 400 cake balls and boxed them up into tiny pastry boxes which she sealed with custom stickers that had hot air balloons, the wedding date, and the couple’s name on them. They were displayed in an open vintage suitcase with a sign that encouraged the guests to “Take One!”

The ceremony the couple chose was very personal and traditional. They lit a unity candle, exchanged rings, read their own vows, and even had a friend play a song.

The couple had initially planned to have their ceremony on the upper lawn, underneath the arbor, which on a sunny day, looks amazing. The cocktail hour was planned for the upper tent, and the reception for the lower tent. But, since summer weather in Seattle can be completely unpredictable, they woke up to rain on their wedding day.

At the last minute, the couple decided to move their ceremony into the lower tent on the grounds, overlooking the rose pond. The couple and their family agree, it was still spectacular and even more beautiful than is could have been on a sunny day. Jill says the rain made everyone feel closer and more intimate, and it was all so gorgeous, no one even noticed the rain.

The reception was designed to be formal looking, for still fun for the 150 guests. It was cozy because of the rain outside the tent, but the feeling was intimate and guests danced the night away despite the fact. Jill and Trevor danced their first dance to Iron and Wine’s “Flightless Bird”.